


When We Were Young

by isa_writes



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alec Lightwood Deserves Nice Things, Angst, Based on an Adele Song, Fluff and Angst, Happy Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, M/M, Magnus Bane Deserves Nice Things, POV Magnus Bane, Reflection, Slow Dancing, song!fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-23
Updated: 2019-03-23
Packaged: 2019-11-28 11:57:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18208016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isa_writes/pseuds/isa_writes
Summary: Alec was immortal, Magnus realized, because immortality isn’t physically living forever. Immortality is leaving an imprint that lasts forever. Magnus is Alec’s imprint.orA song!fic based off of Adele's When We Were Young





	When We Were Young

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fanfic I've ever written, so go easy on me. I don't remember who exactly tweeted it, but I saw a tweet (or tumblr post?) with a prompt about Magnus and Alec dancing to the Adele song When We Were Young and I couldn't get it out of my head. This isn't beta read so all mistakes are mine and I apologize in advance. If you read this I'd love feedback because I'd like to continue writing. So comment any suggestions or tweet me @lightwxxdbane. I'd love to see your reactions and hear your thoughts!

Alec was ageing. They both knew it, but they had yet to accept it. Magnus had believed that, with time, he could see a life past Alec. He thought that, just maybe, fifty years would give him enough time to accept a life where Alec had become a fond memory, an adventure through true love that he would never forget. Alec was his universal light, giving him hope and direction where there was none.

The realization of his age wasn’t profound. Magnus knew. He saw the gray hairs appearing. He saw the stiffness in his movements. He saw the smile lines deepening. But he never _really_ noticed. Because Alec was still Alec. He still blushed at the innuendos and flirty comments. He still lit up when he saw his family. His eyes still conveyed the emotions he was trained to hide. He was still beautiful.

 

_You still look like a movie_

 

The realization of his age wasn’t sudden. He could hear his voice changing. He could hear the strain. He could hear the slight groans from overexertion. But that didn’t matter. Because Alec was still _Alec_. He still couldn’t sing for shit. He still made stupid jokes. His laugh still overpowered the room with a beautiful brightness.

 

_You still sound like a song_

 

The true realization of his age came on a random day in spring. It was pouring outside. The sky was dreary and overcast and Magnus had just come home from a client. He rushed up the stairs, shivering and anxious to curl up with tea and a good book. Magnus had opened the door to find Alec wearing a suit and holding a bouqet of chrysanthemums and daisies. Magnus had found it funny. Alec was offering him a physical representation of what he gave Magnus everyday. Like any sane man would, Magnus took them and returned it with a kiss and a question. _Is today a special occasion?_

Alec had simply shook his head and held out his calloused hand. Magnus took it and Alec pulled him into an embrace. _Dance with me?_ He had asked against Magnus’ ear. Without hesitation, he snapped his fingers and turned on the radio.

 

_My God, this reminds me_

 

Alec was never particularly good at dancing, but that wasn’t the point. The point was the intimacy. Dancing was a way of promising a happily ever after. It was a way for Alec to solidify the love that warmed Magnus’ heart everyday. They danced because it was a way to erase the barriers. They were no longer mortal and immortal. There wasn’t any time involved. It was just Magnus and Alec. Wrapped in each other's arms, swaying. No matter how old Alec got, how many wrinkles or gray hairs, when they were dancing it all disappeared. In this movement they were frozen in time.

 

_Of when we were young_

 

Magnus had raised his head off of Alec’s shoulder to meet his eyes. Those beautiful eyes filled with love, filled with happiness, and filled with sadness. He reached up with a tentative hand and rested it against Alec’s cheek. Feeling only warmth and seeing only light. His skin was sagging with experiences, a life fully lived. Slowly, Magnus raised onto his toes and pressed his lips to Alec’s. It was slow, but a way to show the love that was overflowing in his heart. And when he pulled back, his eyes were glassy.

 

_It was just like a movie_

 

The tears that were stuck that day weren’t tears of sadness. They were tears of memory.  Because looking at Alec, and searching his eyes, he could only see the Alec he had met almost fifty years ago. Because Alec was always the same. The hair color, the voice, and the appearance had nothing to do with it. Alec was physically beautiful, but that wasn’t the Alec he had fell in love with. Magnus fell for the dopey smile, the stupid jokes, and the heart that only grew with time.

 

_It was just like a song_

  


When they danced, he wondered why the angels had graced this earth with Alexander Lightwood only to take him away. But in moments like those, he realized the exact reason. His heart was too good. Alec couldn’t physically stay on this earth because the world couldn’t handle it. Looking at Alec in that moment, was like looking at the stars themselves.

 

_When we were young_

 

That was the day Alec’s mortality hit him. It was when Magnus felt so loved, so safe, that he realized the time was limited. It wasn’t on days like today. It wasn’t when the sun was shining. It was when he needed a light to focus on. Because, now, that light had become Alec.

Alec directed him in the dark. Alec made his insecurities fade. Alec made everything horrible fade away. Alec made him feel _important._ He knew there was no way to prepare for life without his light. Nobody can prepare for that. What he did know, was that he needed to create memories because in those, Alec was immortalized. Alec was immortal, Magnus realized. Immortality isn’t physically living forever. Immortality is leaving an imprint that lasts forever. Magnus is Alec’s imprint. Love is how Magnus could keep Alec alive even after death. Days like today were okay. Days like today allowed him to ignore Alec’s grey hair. Days like today he could ignore the sun shrouded by clouds. Days like today he could even ignore the chrysanthemums withering in the corner.

 

_When we were young_

**Author's Note:**

> So I realize this might be kind of confusing, but I tried to kind of make it Magnus looking back on that day and then at the end it is the present time? I feel like it's really passive, but I hope you enjoyed it! Also for my next fic I was thinking either an 70's college au with shitty music, windbreakers, and cigarettes or a 10 Things I Hate About You malec au? I'm planning on writing both, but which one should I write first?


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